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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. clip — for paper
  5. drill — army training
  6. content — the amount
  7. tube — a container
  8. content — happy
  9. tube — the underground
  10. stem — to come from
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. face — to confront
  14. drill — a practice
  15. clip — a video
  16. drill — the tool
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. press — newspapers
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — to push

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com